Fox & Friends ponders whether Trump's wall might've just been 'symbolic'

Eight months into the Trump presidency and still no sign of his promised border wall, Fox & Friends is starting to wonder if President Trump may have been speaking metaphorically when he proposed such a barrier on the U.S.-Mexico border. "[H]as the wall almost become symbolic?" Fox & Friends co-host Steve Doocy pondered Thursday. "I know the president ran on it. It was a mantra. But at the same time, border crossings have gone down dramatically and you were talking about how the wall exists in certain forms and there's money to go to it ... but do you think we're going to get to the point where maybe they won't build the wall?"
The debate was sparked by Trump's Thursday morning tweet insisting that his "WALL" was "already under construction in the form of new renovation of old and existing fences and walls." He said it would "continue to be built." Trump posted the tweet the morning after his dinner with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who said Trump at the sit-down agreed to "work out a package of border security, excluding the wall."
Former Republican congressman Jason Chaffetz, who recently joined Fox News as a contributor, swooped in to try to explain why Trump, who led chants of "build that wall" at his rallies, was now seemingly setting aside his promised wall while simultaneously suggesting it was already being built.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Chaffetz claimed Trump "doesn't need congressional authority to build the wall" because it's "already there." But then he said Trump does need funding, and it's "solely in the camp of the United States Congress to fund what the president promised he would do." Chaffetz said Trump will build the allegedly already built wall so long as Congress, whose authority Chaffetz claimed Trump does not need, will "step up and actually fund it."
Watch the discussion over at Mediaite.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Gaza is running out of cash
Under The Radar Palestinians pay the price as black market springs up around banknotes and coins
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK Published
-
Law firms: Caving to White House pressure
Feature Trump targets major law firms tied to his past investigations
By The Week US Published
-
Venezuelan deportees: Locked up for tattoos?
Feature A former pro soccer player was deported after U.S. authorities claimed his tattoo proved he belonged to a Venezuelan gang
By The Week US Published
-
Trump 'not joking' about unconstitutional 3rd term
Speed Read The president seems to be serious about seeking a third term in 2028
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The JFK files: the truth at last?
In The Spotlight More than 64,000 previously classified documents relating the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy have been released by the Trump administration
By The Week Staff Published
-
Supreme Court upholds 'ghost gun' restrictions
Speed Read Ghost guns can be regulated like other firearms
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump sets 25% tariffs on auto imports
Speed Read The White House says the move will increase domestic manufacturing. But the steep import taxes could also harm the US auto industry.
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump allies urge White House to admit chat blunder
Speed Read Even pro-Trump figures are criticizing The White House's handling of the Signal scandal
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Waltz takes blame for texts amid calls for Hegseth ouster
Speed Read Democrats are calling for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and national security adviser Michael Waltz to step down
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Judge: Nazis treated better than Trump deportees
speed read U.S. District Judge James Boasberg reaffirmed his order barring President Donald Trump from deporting alleged Venezuelan gang members
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US officials share war plans with journalist in group chat
Speed Read Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg was accidentally added to a Signal conversation about striking Yemen
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published